B.J. Parker American , b. 1980
Images
Overview
B.J. Parker, "Theophany at the Forge", 2023
"Using large scale, multi figure narrative paintings I depict individuals searching for meaning in a fractured landscape that parallels the existential milieu of contemporary life." - B. J. Parker
B. J. Parker is a contemporary figurative painter based in Saint Louis, Missouri. Fascinated by myth and always practicing the visual language, he completed his PhD in ancient Near Eastern religion at Baylor University and trained in the visual arts with Patricia Watwood, Sadie Valeri, and at the Texas Academy of Figurative Art. In his work, B. J. amalgamates the approaches of the Renaissance and Baroque masters, ancient Near Eastern Mythology, and his lived experience of a post-postmodern context. Combining traditional practices dating back to the Renaissance with contemporary compositions, his work explores human relationships, the experience of the sublime, and forgotten stories through figurative creations in oil paint, charcoal, and graphite.
Works
Biography
"Over the last five years, using drawing, oil painting, and sculpture, I have explored the role that a fragmented judeo-christian mythology plays in my own identity and meaning making. Using large scale, multi figure narrative paintings I depict individuals searching for meaning in a fractured landscape that parallels the existential milieu of contemporary life. Before painting I explore countless sketches, searching for poses and images that organically emerge and then select poses that enable me to constructively critique extant mythology.
I slowly layer my paintings building luminosity and infusing surfaces with life, using both direct and indirect painting methods. The physical relics and icons I make often come from dismantled religious instituions. Palimpsests emerge when I begin arranging these objects and fragments and layer metalpoint and oil paint on them. I arrange and rearrange the objects searching for combinations that both critique the reality of old narratives and support the possibility of new ones.
I slowly layer my paintings building luminosity and infusing surfaces with life, using both direct and indirect painting methods. The physical relics and icons I make often come from dismantled religious instituions. Palimpsests emerge when I begin arranging these objects and fragments and layer metalpoint and oil paint on them. I arrange and rearrange the objects searching for combinations that both critique the reality of old narratives and support the possibility of new ones.
Through myth, humans find their home in the world. My work creates space to interrogate old narratives and find new ways to move towards meaning." - B.J. Parker
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